Wandering in the Rain
by CartoonCaster21
Summary: After the war, Liechtenstein had nothing. She couldn't deny that she was dying and there was nothing to hold on. But while mindlessly traveling the night, she bumps into someone who helps her up while they could barely stand. Ep 45, written. First Hetalia story. Sibling fluff. Wasn't sure for genre.


Lichtenstein hobbled through the empty stone streets, trying not to slip over the tatters of her dress or the dampened rocks below her feet. The rain kept pouring on, as it had been for the past few hours, seeming to have the air become quite cold, everything else around slippery. The young girl was completely soaked to the bone, shivering. She couldn't believe how weak she was. She hadn't gotten involved in the war for many reasons, the main being as she was a small country that owned no military, but the next was because she wasn't ready. She was too young. But even so, the war passed and here she was, all her people depressed and starving. And she couldn't help them. She felt the pain inflicted upon all her people and the land, to make it worse if she couldn't help herself, she degraded the issue further.

_What do I do…?_

The little country had been wandering for two days already, mindlessly about nearby villages. She wasn't even sure if she was within her own borders anymore, simply just walking forward with no idea of where to go or what to do. The pain she repeatedly felt, she knew it was true, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. _She was dying_. Maybe her people would be better off with a much richer, stronger country, one that had a military to protect them, and not a little girl leading them out. Maybe this was for the best. _Death was the best?_

Without warning, she slipped. The blonde child leaned over to her side, colliding with a hard stone wall. She panted, watching her cold breath escape her dry mouth, rain running down her fragile figure. She shook slightly with a sneeze before sliding down the wall into a sitting position, utterly exhausted and defeated by her people's nonstop pain.

The young nation looked around with her lifeless olive eyes, trying to figure out where she had ended up. Everything appeared as a foggy blur due to the fact of lack of food and water, plus the endless rain showers not lighting up disfigured far-off places. But from what she could tell, she wasn't in a familiar place. It was a village, made of stone, and she wandered into a dark alley that was fairly wide, splitting off into another dark alley. Nobody was out; just the sound of rain slashing against the ground and running down pipes was heard along with her uneven breathing.

Even though many of the homes must be empty due to losses of the recent war, the village still appealed liveable and much nicer than her own country at that moment.

_My house and the surrounding areas are in tatters because of the Depression. _Her stomach growled, demanding for food. Crying out to her like her dying nation, _I don't even have enough food to eat. _Sighing, the soaked, shivering blonde leaned back against the cold stone wall supporting her, as she began to give in. Her head was throbbing, her vision becoming blurred, and every other part of her body ached. _What will happen to me? _She truly had nobody, no support except for the wall she currently was leaning all her weight on. She looked up into the dead black sky, feeling droplets of heavy rain splash onto her face, running down her cheeks and mixing with her salty tears. _Maybe…this really is it for me. _

Finally, she closed her eyes, just wanting all the pain to go away, and for once to get some sleep. She hadn't seen the other countries in such rough shapes, sometimes not even when returning from war whether being the victor or the one to surrender. There were times one was horribly damaged that she would hear on the news, but the recovery was quick due to allies. She had no allies. She had nobody but her people, being the small country she was.

She sniffed as she controlled her breathing, slowing it down. She'd miss her people, and felt guilt rip through her chest for abandoning them like this. But she believed that such good people deserved a country that could aid their every need, and sadly, she was proven not to be that country.

_But still…I wanted to stay a country a little bit longer…_

While the little girl began to let herself sink into the darkness, she faintly heard footsteps stepping into newly-formed puddles, the soles of the shoes sloshing about, squishing on the stone walkway. She kept her eyes closed though. Nothing could happen to her anymore once she officially let go.

But then the footsteps stopped.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A young voice asked; a hint of uncertainness was picked up. Hearing this form of worry, Lichtenstein began to wonder. The voice sounded close, like the one who spoke was addressing her. But even so, who would stop and care for such a small and helpless nation like herself, literally on the verge of death?

She slowly opened her emotionless green eyes to see if anyone was actually there, and she wasn't hallucinating from lack of sleep. The blonde blinked a few times, trying to clear away her blurry line of vision, seeing a figure begin to take shape a few feet in front of her.

A figure…

That caught her attention, and easily, she tried to hold up her head as the form of the mysterious person came in clear view.

It was a young boy, older than she but most likely by just a few years. He had choppy blonde bangs that messily hung around down to his chin. He too sported a pair of green eyes; the two resembled each other astonishingly. Atop his head was some type of beret, and he was dressed in nothing but slacks, sopping wet shoes, a white buttoned-down shirt and a light jacket left open as if he too was trying to catch his death.

She looked up at him, and the concern he posed for her gave her hope.

"Did you hear me?"

She blinked once more, coming out of her daze. She nodded up towards him resulting in a sigh mixed between both worry and frustration as he walked a foot closer.

"Do you need help, little girl? Are you lost?"

Lichtenstein looked down the alley, remembering she was indeed lost, not caring wherever she ended up. "Yes, I am…would you mind telling me where I am?"

The boy's eyes widen, "Uh…you're in Bern, Switzerland…but I can tell from your accent you're not from here."

"Switzerland? Oh my…no, I'm not from this country."

"You mean you didn't even realize you crossed borders? That's rather dangerous, especially after a war."

She agreed. Suddenly, the young nation sneezed. She knew she had caught something from wandering around for hours in the dreaded rain. The boy appeared wet too, but not nearly as wet as she, so he hadn't been out as long. He seemed to have noticed her shivering too as he shed his light jacket, and dropping it on her, allowing the warm material to drape over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't bring an umbrella. But my jacket should help."

"But, what about you?"

He sighed, looking up into the blackened depths of the sky, "Don't worry about me." Lichtenstein watched the boy from under his jacket as he got lost in the darkness of space. There were no stars, no moon, only ugly rain clouds, so she wasn't sure what captivated his attention so. He looked down at her, eyebrows somewhat furrowed together as if in thought, "Do you have a place to go?"

Of course, she shook her head, "No. I have nothing left."

"Come with me then. I was on a stroll, but I wasn't sure where. We can get you warmed up and out of those clothes. Some food too if you're hungry,"

"I can't ask for that much, I hardly know you to allow you to give such hospitality."

This time, it was the boy's turn to look down both ways of the alley, making sure nobody was near or within their hearing range. Even though it was obvious nobody was even outside of their homes this night, he still lowered his voice to a little more above a whisper.

"I hope this may not sound weird but…may I ask your name?"

She flustered some, caught off-guard, "Oh, um…Lili…"

"And, Lili, are you, by any chance…a country?"

Lichtenstein wasn't even sure if her eyes could grow any bigger. Was it that easy to tell? Or…some excitement came through her as she thought of the other possibility. She grinned, the first real grin in a very long, incalculable amount of time. "Yes…I'm Lichtenstein. But, how'd you know…?"

"Well…I'm Switzerland. But you could call me Vash if you wish." He then added, "I knew I recognized you. So if you're a country, and I'm a country, and neighbouring nations to add, it's our job to help each other. You need help, and I'm willing to lend a hand." To prove his point, he outstretched a hand towards the younger blonde.

Equivalent to grinning, a giggle escaped her as she beamed, hope rising within her, replacing the empty spots where death was consuming her. She took the older nation's hand and he pulled her up, clutching it as he led her though the alley towards his home. They didn't walk too far at all before a nicely kept home came up, looking comfortable and peaceful. She squeezed his hand in a silent way of saying thank you, and he returned the squeeze.

_That was the night Switzerland became my big bruder, and I could never thank him enough._

_Of course, I am forever in his debt for shortly after, I discovered he had helped me to my feet, when he could barely stand. My bruder has the purist heart I've ever come across, I hope to someday grow up to be as strong as a country as him, because if it weren't for big bruder, I wouldn't be a country anymore…_

**A/N: First Hetalia story. Please be kind and tell me what y'all thought. Thank you.**

**Bern, a rather popular and known city throughout Switzerland. From what I found, it played a part in the Wars and has a historical piece a town standing. It also appeared to resemble where Vash found Lili.**

**Fan note: I know Switzerland's human name is Basch Zwingli, but another more common spelling a it is "Vash", and since Lichtenstein never got an official human name, I used a nickname fans gave her which is "Lili" as a short form to her name and a pun on the Lily flower that grows in her country. I know she was given some human names, but Lili's so cute :3**


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